Frustrations: Retail Threads

We definitely love the community & freedom on this board as well; seems like most other boards have clamped down pretty tight to the point where things are not as much fun.

We all share a little of the blame for not contributing to the legit threads, truth is that we answer questions over at RC much more frequently than over here.

The chat box does help cut down on the meaningless chatter and OT posts in the threads but it would definitely be nice to see more participation & non-commercial threads. Seems like the top threads always get spammed with commercial posts and this pushes the legit questions off of the front page creating more work for us lazy yet helpful types. I'm far more apt to answer a question if I don't have to go hunting for it :lol:

Wow...I didnt mean to open a can of worms, I just spoke/type what I felt at the time.


To improve the site, I believe the best solution would prolly have an Active thread section for hobbyists and Active thread section for retailers. Both will be displayed on the front page but for the hobbyists section it will display lets say 15 threads while the retailers get 5 threads. These would be typically two different tables.

I believe that having different tables would allow use to view important hobbyists threads but still get to see 2-3 threads from retailers. Of course the hobbyists threads first then retailers


so something like

Hobbyists...
10-15 threads displayed

Retailers
5 threads

This eliminates hobbyists threads from being bumped and the retailers can vie for front page space.

I just hit "refresh" and it goes away...

Honestly, all the pimping for that IN PARTICULAR *IN CHAT* frustrates me to no end.

I've heard more than a few people say it bothers them, too. The consensus is that since an ad has been paid for it's carte blanche to relentlessly SPAM the chat box for that event.

This opinion is separate from my feelings about that individual, event and circumstances.

As for sponsors/advertisers, honestly, I don't see a lot wrong with. As long as they stay in their respective forums (with regards to ads; answering questions should go wherever the questions are raised!).

All in all, I still like this board. A lot. One reason is that the community is considered with regards to issues like this. That has a tremendous value.

And for that - as well as the general approach towards the site - I thank you...

If it werent for the freedom to post stuff here, for sale and otherwise, I cant see a reason why I would visit the site. I think that most of the good discussions take place on the chat dialog, so there really arent any good informative posts in the discussion sections. That being said, I like being able to see actual vendor specials etc...

Here's my personal opinion on this matter.
All these changes that people want to the forums comes at a cost for the web developers. There's also hosting fees, maintanence on the site and a lot of other stuff I'm sure and it's certianly not free. All the sponsors pay for this wonderful site everybody enjoys. If it weren't for them, I'm sure it wouldn't be as great.

All this complaining is about the main page of the website that has the latest active threads. It's as simple as setting your favorites to a different landing page like General Discussions or whatever. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Plus if they didn't post anything, these forums would almost be dead. That's partly due to not much posting in the forums and people using the chat often.

I personally like seeing what the sponsors have on sale or new items they have coming in. If they didn't post here, I would probably never visit a lot of these stores since I don't know what they have in stock. They pay for the sponsorship so they should be allowed to post in their forums if they have new items in or sales or whatever. It's up to you if you want to read or not.

Tagging along with Bsk997....Well said.

IIRC MikEe is the only one who actively works on the site. There's not a traditional "development" effort.

Not sure what the hosting is like here, however I can tell you it's not horribly expensive. It's not free, but it's more than likely not a "ton" of money. Maintenance is included in the licensing (the software, that is). Applying fixes and such, again, is MikEe's gig IIRC.

True. I turn off a lot of that stuff personally.

Also VERY true... That's been a constant issue for some time, not only here but on other boards. Chat is simply more fun, I think, and that's why the post count is lower than one might think it should be.

That was my take on it, as well. They're THEIR forums, here for THEIR benefit. Let them use them! Keeping them within their forums, though, I think is important so as to not "intrude" in the "public" space. Unless they are offering advice, however (and no, not "I advise you to come on down for our .99c sale! Everything under a buck!").

You get the drift.

:laugh:

FYI rearranging start/home page options is sort of a pain, but overall really not that big of a deal (at least in my experience). If there are minor cosmetic changes that are easy to do, and it makes the general membership happy, then why not? Personally I think it's fine, as I hide a lot of things I don't care about, but that's me...

On a lighter note, I hope everyone has a good weekend!

:beer:

That would the exact point of changing the first page's layout; to keep the vendor threads in a vendor section/table seperate from the informational/questions threads.

For most users it takes a lot more effort to browse the forum than to notice a new thread on the top page. I highly doubt anyone would even visit the vendors' forums if they didn't have the threads listed on the top page and the vendors are aware of this so they try to maintain a presence on the top page (spamming).

I would love to see an adjustment (speaking as a vendor a hobbyist and a person who is fed up with the spam). It always seems to go that people will abuse the policy until it is amended...it's a slippery slope that leads to tighter controls

C

Now back to the weekend fun!

:beer::cheers::reddy:

That'd be my take on it, as well (meaning the reason for "top posting" or "bumping").

That's generally the way things go.

It might be a bad analogy, but it's kinda like raising kids.

You can be very restrictive and loosen up as things progress, or be completely loosey-goosey and then try to apply discipline.

My experience (professionally and as a parent) is that it's better to be more restrictive than free. Again - in my experience! - it's better that way.

That does NOT mean that they haven't worked to apply an appropriate level of discipline with regards to the community here at SCR. In all honesty, although there was seemingly none at first, I've been overwhelmingly in agreement with the direction and "tone" here. There are freedoms - far more than most boards, to be sure! - however there's also a nudge now and then when needed.
I just got back from the store with probably 20 lbs of pork ribs, sausage and whatever else is on the fast road to a blocked artery.

Time to sift through the recipe books and cook like a fiend!

LMAO - you guys make it seem like this site is super fast and the vendors are the issue.

I just did a quick search and the only place that are active are the vendors area, there are 3-6 questions posted today or this week and so far no answer, all other forums are DEAD or MIA dated back in May/June/July.

I read some of you guys comments and some are very good and true and I am 100% agreed; for some of you all I have to say is before making any comment look at yourself and what you have done to this site, because it's you that also abusing the system as well. ( click on the user name, search on all the thread that user done in the past )

If I remember correctly the vendors that have their banner display on the top of the page(s) are the one that actually paid to be here. All others are here for free; free listing and free advertise. If they are too cheap to pay up, they should not be here or if they are not legit business they should not be here listing commercial post/thread. This would take care about 1/2 of vendors/listing/advertising.

Well then you have to defind what is legit...working out of garage, selling out of garage or car and wholesaler run weekly/monthly.

If I offend anyone or any company I am sorry but the way I read is that you guys wanted tought/strict/tighter controller and less commercial listing; the above is a good way to start. Forcing other vendors to support this site by paying the yearly fee in return Mike can use that fund for more site improvements and help this site grow.

P.S. don't forget to stop by my shop this weekend, we will give you a good deal since it's getting to the end of the month and we want to finish strong.

Hey everyone,
I am really sad that this site has never really blossomed into what I envisioned a year and half ago. But the good news is that this can change very quickly with everyone's help. I know this was addressed before, but Ill mention it again. Use the chat for quick off topic chats while using the threads if its reef related. That way, everyone gets the chance to contribute to the thread and other members can benefit from the info. If everyone sticks with that rule, this site will get busy. Chat logs are no longer archived, so a lot of the unlimited knowledge that was discussed in the chat are long gone.
Regarding sponsors, its their forum, they can do what they want. Members can simply choose to ignore them if they want.
I know I don't have much time anymore due to school, but Ill try my best to address all the concerns.

Remember, this is your site as much as mine. Keep the suggestion coming and the activity flowing.

Is it forum rules for sponsors to stick inside their forums to sell stuff are are they free to post stuff for sale where ever they want? Just asking because I see some stick to their forum and others are all over the place.

Actually its only 4 months away now, thanks for the plug though